It is known that many sports shoes, including mountain boots, and in particular boots for ski mountaineering, normally consist of a casing, closed at the front in the tarsal and metatarsal zone of the foot by means of a shaped rigid tongue, with the main structural function of supporting the forward weight and of facilitating the return to position and putting on the shoe. Moreover, the tongue creates a protection against impacts, and prevents water, snow or other from penetrating inside the shoe through the front aperture of the casing.
In particular, but not only, in ski mountaineering boots, where the sporting activity alternates between walking and downhill skiing, the boots are provided with clamping and release mechanisms, for example disposed in the rear part of the casing, which allow selectively to make the reciprocal movement of the tarsal part and the metatarsal part of the casing rigid or flexible.
In fact it is known that, in order to limit the risk of accidents and to improve the skiing conditions, it is preferable to reciprocally stiffen the parts of the casing, whereas to facilitate walking these parts of the casing are reciprocally loosened and made more flexible, to allow a more comfortable articulation of the ankle, yet without having to open the boot and compromise the correct positioning of the foot inside it.
Known boots for ski mountaineering however are mainly oriented to the walking condition, to the disadvantage of the skiing condition, which therefore is not optimum and not sufficiently controlled.
Moreover, to allow walking, it is necessary to open not only the clamping mechanism but also the auxiliary closing systems, such as hooks, Velcro straps or other, present on the upper part of the shoe.
In the flexible condition, the tongue of the boot remains rigid, however, creating a partial impediment to the action of walking, and knocks with its upper edge against the tibial zone of the user's leg and, at the same time possibly causing blisters and slight traumas.
Sports shoes are also known provided with an at least partly flexible tongue which, however, if on the one hand facilitates walking, on the other hand does not allow to control the shoe during skiing.
One purpose of the present invention is therefore to achieve a structural element for a sports shoe which, in the rigid condition, or skiing condition, of the shoe, allows a correct posture of the tarsal and metatarsal part of the foot in order to limit the risk of accidents and to improve the conditions of the sports activity, and which, in a flexible condition, or walking condition, of the shoe, substantially facilitates the movement of articulating the foot without knocking against the tibial zone of the leg.
Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve a structural element for a sports shoe which allows to pass from the rigid condition to the flexible condition of the shoe without needing to open the possible closing elements of the upper part of the shoe.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.